


Sons of Durin: Historical Re-enactment Society

by moonflowers



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Massages, Family, First Kiss, Fluff, Horses being bitches, Jousting, M/M, Sibling Incest, silly boys jumping to conclusions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-06
Updated: 2014-04-15
Packaged: 2018-01-11 10:37:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1172052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonflowers/pseuds/moonflowers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Modern AU. The Sons of Durin is a historical re-enactment society and stunt team that tours the country giving jousting and weaponry demonstrations, amongst other things, to the delighted British public. But something is not quite right between two of it's youngest members.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Because I'm a little shit and haven't updated my Durincest or Britchell multi-chapter things in forever, here's a random fic about jousting to make up for it.  
> Apologies to anyone who actually knows about these type of things for my probably glaring inaccuracies.  
> Also, why the flip is there always a Jimmy Nesbit advert on TV whenever I'm typing a Hobbit fic, damn.

“Here comes Sir Kili! Can he defeat the Evil Prince Fili and win the heart of the princess?” Balin’s voice was loud and steady over the loudspeaker. The air smelt of candy floss, squashed grass and hot metal, air distorted in the summer heat.

It was time.

With a deep breath and a grin hidden underneath his helmet, Kili nudged his horse forward into the arena. He cantered around the edge, waving at the cheering children and whipping up support.  
His performance as the ‘good guy’ was never quite as enthusiastic as when he played the ‘bad guy,’ but he hated to lose, even when the competition was staged for entertainment purposes. As a result, he and his brother took turns in playing the good Sir Knight and the Evil Prince. Revelling in the applause, he urged his horse faster and did an extra lap of the ring, encouraging more whoops of delight form the crowd when he came to a sudden halt in front of the stands, where the ‘princess’ was seated. The part of the Princess Dis was actually played by his ever youthful-looking mother, but what the audience didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. He gave her an exaggerated bow from the saddle, and in return she gave him a gracious smile for the audience, and a conspiratorial wink, just for him.

“Now we have both our brave knights,” Balin’s voice continued, somehow managing to inject excitement and tension into the script Kili knew he could recite by heart, “ready to fight for honour and glory. Who will win? Will it be the Black Prince Fili?”  
There was a pause to allow for the chorus of booing and jeers that followed. Kili snuck a glance over at his brother, big and threatening under his armour, black banner raised high. It almost saddened him that the audience could never know how much of a big cuddly pushover Fili was underneath. But it wasn’t real.  
“Or will the Good Knight Sir Kili vanquish him and win the day?” Kili came back to himself, grinning even though no one could see it, lifting his own bright banner in acceptance of the cheers and waves of the crowd. His horse, Arrow, was starting to get jittery underneath him; he knew what came next.  
“Good luck to you both, brave knights,” Balin’s voice cut through the applause, “if you could both take your posts, and let the joust begin!”

Kili whirled Arrow around and cantered down to his end of the arena, where Nori was waiting for him. With a wide grin, Nori took Kili’s banner form him and handed him the lightweight performance lance. 

“Good luck, ‘brave sir knight,’” Nori said with a chuckle. He often took part in the jousts himself, but a recent and quite nasty leg injury meant he was out of action for a while, and given the part of Kili’s squire for performances, along with helping Dori carry out the Q&A sessions for kids. 

Kili snorted in response and gathered up his reins, holding Arrow in check to wait for the signal to start. The gelding was dancing on the spot, dark coat already flecked with sweat in anticipation. He could be a bit of a handful, but he always gave the best he could for his rider, which was why Kili had initially chosen him for his mount. 

“Steady boy,” Kili said to calm him, more out of habit than anything else. He looked across to Fili at the other end of the arena set up for the occasion, lance in hand and looking every inch the formidable knight of old he was playing. Also, his horse was standing perfectly still. Kili rolled his eyes, although no one could see it. Trust his brother’s horse to behave perfectly; she always did.

“Knights, are you ready?” Balin called. Kili raised his lance to signal he was ready, watching as Fili did the same. “Then let us begin!”

Kili’s whole body tensed as he waited for Gloin’s canon blast that signalled the start. His body thrummed with coiled energy, both his and Arrow’s, as they waited. The blast sounded, and they launched forwards. Kili’s mind was blank as his body took over, sitting deep and firm in the saddle, lowering his lance and keeping it steady, aiming for the section of Fili’s armour he was to strike. The roar of the crowd was dull, the roll of Arrow’s hooves thumping in time with the pulse of blood in his ears. He drew closer to Fili, the grey mane of his brother’s horse flying around them, sand spraying up from under her feet as they rushed to meet each other.  
It was over in seconds. Fili’s lance missed Kili completely, just as it was supposed to, whereas Kili’s lance hit Fili squarely on the shoulder, the light wood smashing apart on contact. Fili stayed on his horse, however, and they both slowed to halt, Kili punching the air in triumph as the crowd cheered their approval. 

“And Sir Kili takes an early lead, with one broken lance to none. Let’s hear a round of applause for the brave Good Knight! But will it be enough to win him the tournament?”

Kili trotted back to Nori, dumping the remains of his broken lance and reaching out to take another.

“Nice job kid,” Nori said, giving Arrow a firm pat on the neck, “you ready to knock your brother right off his horse?”

Kili raised his visor and flashed Nori a grin, “Born ready.”

*

“Ouch, that looks nasty.”

Fili looked up from the bruise on his shoulder he was tentatively poking at. Thorin stood in the doorway of the motor home Fili shared with his brother while they were on the road, eyebrow raised as he looked at his nephew’s injury.

“It’s not that bad,” Fili rummaged in the draw next to his bed, pulling out the tube of cream he used to ease the mild aches and bruising gained all too frequently in their line of work. “I’ve definitely had worse.”

“I know,” Thorin sighed and folded his arms. “We’re about ready to get going. Would you go and give Kili a hand loading the horses?”

“No problem,” Fili hurriedly smeared some on the cream over his tender skin with a wince, and pulled his shirt back on, “Tell him I’m on the way.”

Thorin gave him a smile and ruffled his hair, a gesture of love he had never stopped, even when Fili and Kili were far too old to warrant such gestures. “Alright. If Erebor gives you any trouble, come and get me, you know he’s a bit of a sod when it comes to loading. I’ll be packing up the van with Dwalin.”

“Yeah yeah, sure,” Fili waved his uncle away and hopped down the steps, making his way over to the horse lorry where, sure enough, Kili was struggling to keep hold of their uncle’s horse. He was snorting and tossing his head, kicking up the fuss he always did when it came to getting him in the lorry.

“You little shit,” he heard Kili mutter as he swung the great black gelding around again to line up with the lorry ramp.

“Having fun?” Fili called with a grin as he approached.

“No I’m fucking not,” Kili called back, jogging towards the ramp with a reluctant Erebor in tow. Fortunately, the horse conceded defeat and trotted up into the lorry, throwing Kili a dirty look as he tied him up. “Finally,” he said with a weary smile, giving the horse a grateful pat and smudging dirt over his own forehead. “Thanks for helping,” he said with a roll of his eyes as he hopped back on to the grass. 

Fili didn’t reply, only smiling as he led Minty and his own mount, Leona, from the temporary stables set up during their performance time at the fair. They were the calmest of the horses the company used, therefore the least likely to panic when left alone in the stables while the others were loaded. Leona because it was in her very nature, Minty because he had been going through this routine for over ten years now, being the very first horse Thorin purchased for the purpose. They didn’t use the poor beast much anymore – he was mainly there for back up if one of the other horses got injured. Wordlessly, Fili handed Minty to Kili, and led his grey mare up into the lorry. 

*

Six hours, many miles, and a spectacularly large KFC order later, the company had parked up in a service station car park to catch a few hours of necessary sleep before carrying on to the destination of their next show. Fili drew the ratty curtains across the windows of the motor home, because he knew Kili would forget. He peeled off his shirt and flung it in the direction of the rapidly growing pile of dirty clothes that smelt of horse in the corner, and unbuckled his belt to do the same with his jeans. He was just about to climb into the fold out bed when Kili stomped back through the door after making the trek over to the toilets.

“Ouch,” he said, eyeing up the bruise on Fili’s shoulder, “I’m guessing that’s from earlier. Sorry.” He winced in empathy, clearly recalling all the times he’d been bashed up after a show. Usually with Fili to blame. 

“It’ll fade soon enough. I might have to play ‘good guy’ in the next performance though, to save myself a beating.” He pulled back the blanket on the bed. “Come on, we’ve got be on the road again in...” he looked at the time on his phone, “less than five hours. Get some sleep.”

Kili looked doubtful as he pulled his own shirt over his head. “How far are we parked from Bombur?” The man’s snoring was legendary.

“He’s a few spaces away,” Fili wrinkled his nose, “I would liked to have been further away, but Thorin drove in the space I wanted before I could get there.”

“The heartless bastard,” he said with mock seriousness.

Fili hummed in agreement and dropped into bed, wincing as he jostled his shoulder. Kili shut off the light, and clambered in next to him. The motor home used to be Thorin’s before he came by a newer model, and as such only had the one double bed. But to save a lot of hassle, the brothers had long ago decided to just share it. On the whole, it worked out fine – privacy was hard to come by as it was, seeing as all the members of the group lived in only six vehicles between them, and spent almost every waking moment in each other’s company anyway. The main downside of their sharing was that Kili tended to be an incredibly clingy sleeper. It wasn’t much of an issue; especially in winter when they were freezing their bollocks off, and Fili would take heat any which way he could get it. The summer was torture though, when they were both sweating like nobody’s business and Kili was still clinging to him like his life depended on it.

This was one such night. It was high summer and the busiest time of the year for the re-enactment society, hence the tight schedule they were currently on. Fili woke after a few meagre hours of sleep. Sure enough, Kili was pressed close; closer than necessary, an arm and a leg flung over him, and his face smushed into Fili’s chest. As soon as he was awake enough to be aware of it, Fili was uncomfortable. He was far too hot and they were both sticky with sweat, and the physical closeness of his little brother was worrying him more of late. It had never occurred to him before this summer that there may be something not quite right about being so entwined with Kili while they slept. The same discomfort plagued him now, enough that he knew he wouldn’t sleep again that night. Looking at his phone, he saw there was only an hour or so left before they were due to leave. Untangling himself from Kili as best he could, Fili pulled on his clothes from the day before, grimacing at the cooling sweat on his body. Outside, the pre-dawn air was cool and refreshing as he wandered between the vehicles of their convoy, unsure what to do with himself. 

A movement to his left caught his eye. It was Bifur. The man was often a ridiculously early riser, especially when it came to the welfare of his birds. 

“Morning, Bifur,” Fili said softly as he took a seat next to him on the steps of the massive, fuel-guzzling beast of a motor home he shared with his cousins. 

“Mmm,” Bifur hummed in acknowledgement, sparing a brief glance in Fili’s direction before resuming the gentle stroking of the falcon perched on his arm.  
Fili liked to spend time with Bifur. He was a quiet soul, easy to just sit with and watch the world go by, not often concerning himself with the business of others. Unless you interfered with his family that is, then you were in trouble. In fact, Fili doubted Bifur would perform with them at all, if he didn’t take such pride in his beautiful birds. So it was with Bifur that Fili spent the next hour, watching the street lamps go out and the sky lighten, until it was time to wake Kili and get back on the road.

*

“C’mon,” Kili shoved his brother face first onto the bed, perhaps a little harder than was necessary, “I know that face. Your back’s gone all fucked up again, and you are having a massage.”

“But I don’t –“ 

“No!” Kili shoved Fili’s face down into the pillow, and used the distraction to clamber onto his back and keep him pinned with his weight. “No arguments, now shut up and enjoy my magic fingers,” before Fili had time to say anything else, Kili began kneading circles into his brother’s lower back, working out all the soreness and tension in the way he knew worked best. They’d had a lot of practice sorting out each other’s war wounds over the years. Fili sighed in part defeat, part relief, as Kili got to work.  
In all honesty, the day had been a bit of a bitch. The company had arrived in good time at the castle where a two day medieval festival was taking place. It was another scorcher of a day, and even the relatively simple task of unloading the horses caused Kili to work up a sweat. Whilst doing so, he had noticed Arrow was lame on one of his hind legs, meaning he wouldn’t be able to perform later. It was far too hot to drag poor Minty out of retirement, so Kili would have to ride Erebor instead. They did not get on. On top of that, it turned out that Bofur and Ori hadn’t managed to get some of the costume repairs done in time, meaning they’d have to use the ill-fitting spares. Though it was hard to get angry with him as Ori stuttered out earnest apologies. The icing on the cake had been the event co-ordinator, Mr Boggins or something like it, who’d been following them around with a clipboard all day, quoting health and safety regulations and generally getting in the way. Thorin had looked about ready to hit him by the end of the day. And now Fili’s back was playing up…

“Ugh, Kili. What would I do without you?” Fili groaned as the aching muscles in his back began to loosen.

“Mmm,” Kili hummed and pressed his thumbs in tight circles on Fili’s shoulders, careful not to touch the bruise from the day before.

“It were nice of Mr Gandalf to show up again,” Fili mumbled onto the bed covers.

Kili rolled his eyes. Gandalf was a retired and bored ex-professor who followed the company on their summer tours around the country in a clapped out camper van. He seemed to know everything about everything, and heckled their performances with slights regarding historical inaccuracies. “That’s not how I’d put it. He shouted that I was too weedy to be a proper knight from halfway across the field.” He felt Fili huff with laughter underneath him. “And I hate being the ‘bad guy.’ I hate losing.”

“I know you do,” Fili turned his head slightly so his voice wasn’t so muffled, “why do you think I let you be the ‘good guy’ so often? Besides, it’s only for a few shows until my shoulder’s a bit less fucked.”

“I know,” Kili sighed and shifted himself further so he straddled the backs of Fili’s thighs, leaning forward to inspect a graze just under Fili’s shoulder blade, “but nobody likes to lose to their big brother.” He was close enough to smell Fili’s skin; horse, sweat, and a lingering trace of deodorant. If he leant much closer, his lips would brush his skin...

“Well, I don’t enjoy taking it out on my little brother either,” Fili said quietly, rolling his shoulder back so the joint popped. Kili looked with something like fascination at the stretch of muscles under his brother’s freckled skin, suddenly wanting nothing more than to run his tongue over the expanse, and remembering why it was he hadn’t given Fili a massage in so long. The low, heavy feeling in his stomach was unmistakable, and it wasn’t healthy.

“I’m going to check on Arrow,” he said abruptly, pushing himself forcefully off the bed and his brother and stomping to the door of the motorhome. “I was hoping his leg would be good enough to use him again tomorrow,” he said, although he knew full well it wouldn’t be, but he was rambling and couldn’t stop, “Erebor was a total bugger today and I’d rather not have to deal with him tomorrow as well, so…” he trailed off with a shrug.

“Alright,” Fili said, frowning. “I – I think I’ll get some sleep then. Thanks for the massage.”

“No problem,” Kili mumbled as he left the van and headed to the stables, wondering where the hell everything had gone so wrong.

*

The second day of the festival was going almost as badly as the first. The horses were hot and irritable, as were their riders. Erebor had nearly unseated Kili several times, angering the pair of them even further. Fili’s back was still sore and the bruise on his shoulder throbbed every time he lifted a lance. He also found himself distracted by thoughts of his brother, more so than usual. For a while now it had been creeping up on him, so gradually he’d barely noticed, but he’d finally acknowledged what it was, after the wonderful but awkwardly charged massage Kili had given him last night. What the hell was he meant to do about it, was the question. From the funny looks Kili had been giving him all morning, he was aware of the oddness between them, how their usually easy banter was now less so.  
He was taking a break between the morning and afternoon performances to cool off and drink all the ice water he could get his hands on, when Thorin marched up to him, the look on his face somewhere between determination and annoyance, the look he favoured when he had to discuss something delicate with his nephews. 

“Fili,” the set of his jaw was grim, “could I have a word?”

“Of course,” he said, trying to smile, “what can I do for you, uncle?”

“You and your brother,” Thorin began, and Fili’s heart felt like it dropped right out of his chest, “there’s something sour between the two of you. And it can’t carry on, not when we all live as closely as we must in the company. Sooner or later, it would get to us all, and I can’t have that.”

“Yes uncle,” Fili mumbled, feeling as though he were five years old again, except his misdemeanour was something infinitely more serious than any trouble he and Kili had caused in childhood. “I – I can deal with it.”

Thorin sighed, and sat on a rickety plastic chair next to him, “you may be able to, but I’m not so sure Kili can.”

“What?”

“Fili, for all his bluster and big talk, you and I both know your brother hurts easily and hides it poorly.”

“I haven’t hurt him,” Fili blurted, desperate that Thorin understand that at least, “and I won’t do at all, if I can help it.”

Thorin held up a hand to silence his rambling, “I know that, Fili. It’s just…” he faltered, for a moment, embarrassment overruling determination. “I’ll be blunt with you Fili,” he pressed on, “I know how you feel about your brother.”

Every muscle in Fili’s body tensed. “What? I don’t – I can’t – I –“

“Fili,” Thorin cut him off. “I’m calling you out on this now, for the sake of you, and of your brother, and the rest of the company. Just talk to him. I know I’m not one to discuss… feelings, openly, but even I can see it’s necessary here. You might find him more understanding than you think.” 

“But Thorin,” Fili hissed, desperate that his uncle understand how twisted up inside he felt, how dirty, and confused, “it’s wrong. He’ll never talk to me again if I –“

“I can’t pretend to understand it, Fili, but I can allow it,” he said, somewhat choked, “I’d never willingly be the one to make either of you miserable.” Before Fili could say anything, Thorin had gotten to his feet and clapped him on the shoulder, before going to help Kili saddle up a disgruntled Erebor for the afternoon performance.

*

As soon as the performance was over, Evil Prince Kili defeated and the Good Knight Sir Fili victorious, though bruised and emotionally exhausted, their horses were whisked away by Nori and Thorin.

“Fili,” Thorin nodded with a tight smile as he took Leona from him, “you and your brother look tired. Go and get cleaned up, me and Nori’ll sort the horses for you.”

“Right,” Fili swallowed, “thanks.” He started back towards their trailer, not looking behind him but assuming Kili was following.

He’d removed his helmet already, and undid his breast plate with some difficulty. He would have left it on ordinarily, but he was just so damn hot. Now able to breathe slightly easier, he sat on the bed that they’d neglected to fold back up that morning, sheets cool on his burning skin. He looked up to see Kili eyeing him cautiously from the doorway.

“Fili? Why did Thorin send us back here?” Their uncle was usually very keen they take care of the horses themselves; they rode them, so their welfare was their responsibility.

Fili sighed, and pushed his sweaty hair back from his eyes. “Because he knows I need to talk to you.”

“…What about?” Kili still hesitated in the doorway, with a startling resemblance to their uncle’s horse just before he was about to bolt.

“Kili,” Fili made himself look up at his brother as he spoke, “I… feel a certain way about you. That is, you know how close we are,” his face was unbearably hot, his skin prickling all over his body, but he had to say it, now or never, “but lately I find myself wanting more than that.” His eyes snapped back to the floor, unable to look at his brother as he said such things. “And it’s starting to get difficult to be so close to you all the time, when I feel like this. But all I want is to get back to how we were, and it might take a while, but I’ll move in with Thorin for a bit or something until I get myself sorted. But believe me Kili, I am sorry, and I will try because I don’t think I could live –“ 

“Fili?”

“Yeah?” He looked up to see his brother standing in front of him, odd little frown on his face and smudge of dirt across his cheek. He knelt down in front of him, resting his hands on Fili’s knees. The afternoon sun was in Fili’s eyes as his brother drew closer, once and for all crossing the ever blurrier line separating what they should be from what they wanted to be. Their kiss was far from graceful; neither had had much experience what with being on the road half the year at a time, Kili was over eager and their teeth met. Their stubble scratched and they couldn’t get close enough to each other, various bits of armour clanked and scraped and kept them apart. But it was enough. Enough for them to know that, whatever this new and unexplored thing that was growing up between them was, they wouldn’t have to face it alone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooooaaahhh I was meant to update this ages ago, but... well no excuses I just took ages.  
> Thornyhedge reminded me I had some notes for a sequel, but I chose to add it on as another chapter rather than post as a new fic.

The summer was nearing its end, making the days long and listless, and everything appear in shades of orange. For the Sons of Durin Historical Re-enactment Society, the events of that summer had been far from listless. They’d passed in a flurry of early mornings and late nights, on the road at odd hours, eating junk at service stations and sleeping in vast car parks, yelling at each other to stop snoring. Everything smelt of horse and hot metal, everyone’s facial hair just a touch out of control due to a constant stream of misplaced razors. There had been bumps and bruises and in one case stitches, when Thorin’s horse had been feeling particularly unpleasant.  
But the company took it in their stride, as they ever did, and it was with stubborn enthusiasm that they arrived and set up for their final show of the summer. It was a four day long festival, filled with the usual costumed performers, craft tents and local produce stalls, children with sticky faces and tired parents with sunburnt noses, balloons and fairground games, burgers and hot dogs and cakes with too much cream, and a bar selling overpriced local ciders and sparkling elderflower presses, as a woman with a well-rehearsed BBC voice crackled over the loudspeaker system. 

Fili was desperate to make a trip to said overpriced bar. Thorin was on the war path, and had been ever since the company had arrived that morning. The Mirkwood Circus, a group made up mainly of slender acrobats in green leotards, were also due to put on a show that weekend. Apparently, from what Fili could grasp from Thorin’s ceaseless ranting and grumbling, and everyone else’s exasperated head-shaking, he and the head of the circus had something of a rivalry, going back years. The acrobats seemed pleasant enough to Fili; if a little distant and superior, but spectacular to watch. But Thorin clearly disagreed, if his scowl during their rehearsal that morning was anything to go by. Fili and Kili had made themselves scarce as soon as they could.  
Now, as they wandered aimlessly between the stalls and demonstrations, Fili longed to take his brother’s hand on his own, though in all likelihood it would have been sweaty and uncomfortable in the heat of the day. He didn’t dare though. There was no one around who knew they were brothers, other than the company, who knew and supported – but didn’t necessarily understand – the sudden change in direction their relationship had taken. Fili was too far gone, had fallen too hard, to really care what other people thought anyway. But he wasn’t sure how Kili felt about it. They’d been almost painfully shy about it so far; tentatively kissing in the darkness of their rusty motorhome, rubbing and pawing at each other with their eyes tight shut as they rose to completion. Things were different on the dark, somehow. It was still new, and scary as hell, but Fili couldn’t have been happier. And he didn’t want to ruin that happiness by moving too fast for Kili, who was flighty at the best of times.

“Oh bugger.”

“What?” Fili followed his brother’s line of eyesight so see Mr Gandalf inspecting one of the local cheese stalls. “Oh. It’s only old Gandalf, he’s not that bad.”

Kili snorted. “Yes, he is. I could do without the list of anachronisms in our performances from him today. Come on,” he grabbed Fili’s hand and dragged him in the opposite direction. A bit unnecessarily dramatic, perhaps, but since it had gotten him the desired hand holding, Fili was more pleased than annoyed. They darted through the crowd, trying not to knock over any small children in the process, eventually slowing when they reached the edges of the site, where the stalls petered out into empty field.

“Feeling safe, yet?” Fili said dryly.

“Hmm,” Kili looked over his shoulder, not paying attention to where he was going, “for now, I think – oh, sorry.” He dropped Fili’s hand.

“That’s quite alright,” said the woman Kili had just barrelled into in his determination to escape the ex-professor. She smiled, and a look of recognition crossed her face. “Oh. You’re part of the re-enactment society, aren’t you?”

“Yes…” said Kili darkly, looking very much like his uncle, much to Fili’s amusement, “what’s it to you?”

She raised an eyebrow at his rudeness. “I saw you practising this morning. You’ve some skill with a bow.”

“I…” Kili floundered, “oh. Right.” But then he seemed to shrug the brief moment of embarrassment aside and gave her a smile, an expression that suited him much more than glowering, in Fili’s opinion. “Thank you. But that’s more of a side thing; we joust mainly, my brother and I.”

She smiled again, with a proud tilt of her chin, “oh really? How intriguing. In that case, I shall have to make sure I catch your performance later on.” Without waiting for a reply, she sauntered off, melting onto the crowd. 

“She seems nice,” Kili said, watching the place where she’d disappeared from view, as if she might come back.

“You’re only saying that because she said you shoot well,” Fili said, well aware that the quickest way to his brother’s heart was through inflating his ego. 

“Maybe,” said Kili, with his strange, lopsided smile, and elbowed Fili playfully on the ribs. “Come on, we’re on in an hour.” He marched off back towards where the company was parked up, Fili following in his wake, and wishing he was brave enough to take the chance and take his brother’s hand again. 

*

Kili cantered out of the arena, banner held high as the crowd cheered. He was in his element; the sun bouncing off his armour as people applauded his victory. It may have all been in the name of entertainment, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy himself. Making things even better was the fact that his own horse was now well enough to ride again, and he no longer had to struggle through each performance locked in a battle of wills with Thorin’s great brute of a horse.  
He came to a stop back by their cluster of trucks and trailers, the heavy, precise footfalls of Fili’s mare close behind him. He turned in the saddle and lifted the visor of his helmet to grin at his adversary.

“Good show, little brother,” said Fili as he pulled up, patting Leona’s neck in gratitude. 

“Naturally,” said Kili as he swung himself out of the saddle to the ground, chain mail clinking, slapping the sweaty neck of his horse and kissing his nose. “Good lad, Arrow. Lord knows I’ve missed you.” Getting thrown to the ground by Thorin’s grumpy gelding every other practice had quickly lost its charm.

“And you call me soppy,” Kili could practically hear the eye roll that went with his brother’s words.

“You’d feel the same if you’d been stuck riding Erebor for the past month.”

“Mm, I s’pose,” Fili agreed as he lifted the saddle from Leona’s back so she could cool off, then starting on the buckles of his own armour. “Ugh, it’s bloody hot. Too hot for all this.”

“Tell me about it,” said Kili, wrinkling his nose in disgust at the sweat soaking through his undershirt and sticking it to his skin. “I feel like I need a hose down.” He unceremoniously dropped his chest plate to the grass, though it was so unbearably hot, he didn’t feel that much cooler without it. The air was still and stuffy with heat, visible in wavering lines above the ground.  
He looked up to see Fili had moved closer, lips quirked in a gentle smile, wisps of hair fallen loose from his ponytail around his face. After a second of hesitation, Kili reached forward with a grubby hand to pull him close, and kissed him. He was still getting used to the fact that he was allowed to. Every time was sweeter than the last; even this one, when they were both sticky with sweat and stinking of horse, dirt under their fingernails and having just given each other half a dozen new bruises in front of a large crowd. But then, most of their kisses had happened under similar circumstances.  
Kili had just slid his tongue along Fili’s bottom lip (he knew he liked it) when, without warning, Fili shoved him away.

“Ah, fuck,” hissed Kili, trying to stay upright. “What the hell was that – ?” 

“Hello again.”

Kili’s head snapped up to see the red-haired woman he’d literally bumped into earlier smiling at them. Fili’s eyes were still panicked, but given that the woman hadn’t balked or run screaming, Kili thought it safe to assume she hadn’t seen. “Hello,” his voice cracked.

“I enjoyed your show,” she said, absently stroking the mane of Fili’s mare, “you both certainly know how to keep a crowd entertained.”

“Thank you,” said Fili politely, perfectly composed. How the heck was he doing that? Kili’s stomach was still jumping.

“Since I’ve seen your act,” she continued smoothly, as Leona licked her fingers, “I wondered if you might like to watch mine. Come down to the main arena in ten minutes.”

*

Fili shot his brother an anxious glance out the corner of his eye, hoping Thorin wouldn’t notice. He didn’t; he was too busy glowering at the performance in the main arena. The Mirkwood Circus had taken centre stage to much cheering and fanfare from the crowd, putting on an admittedly impressive acrobatics display. The redheaded woman they’d met earlier was apparently part of the act, balancing gracefully on the shoulders of another with the ease of a cat. Kili met his glance, equally worried. Thorin looked positively murderous. 

“Umm, uncle?” Fili said tentatively, “if they bother you so much, would you rather not watch them?”

Thorin only grunted in reply, but then a tall, lithe man with hair worthy of a shampoo ad looked across the crowd and right at Thorin, barely there smirk on his lips. Their uncle noticed of course, lines of his scowl deepening. 

“Dwalin!” he barked at his equally angry looking friend, and tuned abruptly back towards the bar, “come.” After their uncle had stormed off, the brothers smiled weakly at each other and watched the rest of the show. 

That evening, Fili was sitting on the steps of their motorhome, enjoying the last of the sun on his face before it sank behind the trees, and buffing mud off his shoulder guard. Kili had been a bit over enthusiastic that afternoon and knocked him off Leona. He wasn’t hurt, but it had still been a surprise to find himself on the ground on his back.  
A short distance away, the red haired acrobat, Tauriel, was sitting cross-legged on the grass, watching Kili practice his archery. Fili smiled fondly; his brother was showing off, there was no question about it. He always had loved being the centre of attention, and Fili had only ever encouraged him, pleased to see his little brother so happy. It was only when Tauriel stood up to join him, standing close as Kili corrected the position of her hands on the bow, that he felt an unfamiliar twinge of jealousy. His brother had always made friends easily, but being on the road as much as they had, none of his fast-formed friendships had ever really stuck. But now the nature of their relationship had changed… perhaps Kili had grown apprehensive and was having second thoughts. They were very close now, Kili practically whispering into her ear, and she smiled warmly, before launching the arrow flawlessly to the middle of the makeshift target. He slapped her gently on the shoulder with a grin. Fili found he couldn’t watch them any longer, and stomped up the steps into the motorhome, swinging the door shut behind him.  
If anything, it was worse inside. The evening was clear and still, and their laughter carried straight through the thin glass of the windows. Now his foolish, jealous mind couldn’t see them, it jumped to all kinds of ridiculous conclusions, each more unlikely yet worrying than the last. Eventually, frustrated with himself and irritated with his attention-seeking brother and the acrobat, he groaned and wrenched open the door of the caravan again, determined to find something to take his mind off the two shamelessly flirting figures a short way away. 

He wandered about without any destination in mind, frowning at the squashed grass underfoot, when he came across Mr Baggins (not ‘Boggins,’ as Kili had mistakenly called him to begin with and hadn’t stopped since) who was sitting under a large oak tree, cigarette in hand and looking very much like a naughty schoolchild who’d been caught. 

“Hi Fili.”

“Mr Baggins,” Fili eyed the wisps of smoke surrounding the man in surprise, “I didn’t know you were coming up to watch us this weekend.”

“Ahh, well,” he smiled sheepishly, “you know me, I can’t pass up the chance to see you lot perform.” It was true; though they’d only met then man a month ago, he’d somehow struck up a bizarre friendship with Thorin, and had consequently made his way to the last three of their events. There weren’t many who’d stuck with them so long. Besides Mr Gandalf, but Fili wasn’t sure if he counted.

“I didn’t know you smoked.”

“Does it matter?”

“No. I just… didn’t know.”

Mr Baggins laughed. Not unkindly, just amused. “Well, now you do. Where’s your brother? You two are usually joined at the hip.”

Fili almost flinched, but reigned it in, trying to keep out the cracks in his pleasant smile. “He’s… with a girl.”

“Oh?” Bilbo raised an eyebrow in honest surprise. “I thought you two were…” he trailed off, his meaning clear enough.

“I – we – yes,” Fili sputtered, and why was Mr Baggins so calm about this? “we are, but how did you know?”

He shrugged, and offered Fili a toffee from the paper bag in his pocket. “I notice things other people don’t.”

“And you’re not…” Fili rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, “it doesn’t bother you?” It was hardly something you came across often.

“People can’t help who they fall in love with,” Mr Baggins said through a mouthful of toffee.

“Oh.” Fili didn’t know what to say. It was a warming thought.

“And,” he added, swallowing the toffee, “I know that once you do find love, you should fight to keep it.”

“I don’t know if – “

“Go and talk to him, Fili. Don’t balls up what you have when you’ve only just found it.”

“…thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he grinned again, “and take some toffee for Kili. Argument or otherwise, I know he’ll want some.”

*

After a somewhat awkward goodbye to Mr Baggins, Fili wandered aimlessly a little longer, until the sun was almost gone and he couldn’t put it off anymore. Already wincing at how bloody awful the conversation he was about to have would be, he eased open the slightly rusty door of the motorhome. Kili was sprawled across the bed on his back, flicking through a three-week old music magazine.

“Hi,” his face visibly brightened when he saw Fili, and the elder allowed himself some small sense of happiness at that. “Where did you get to?”

“Just around. Chatted to Mr Baggins for a while. Did you know he smokes?”

Kili tossed the magazine aside and sat up. “No way! Does Thorin know?”

“Err, I don’t know. Why?”

Kili smirked. “I hear he has a thing for men who smoke.”

“That’s… disturbing.”

“Mm. Now get here. I haven’t kissed you for at least three hours and I’m not happy about it.”

Knowing that to refuse would cause more problems than it solved, Fili did so. Just a quick peck that made Kili roll his eyes and huff in exasperation, muttering something about how the winner of the joust deserved a better kiss than that.

“Kili, listen,” he blurted, because if he kept it in amy longer he was going to scream, “I want to ask you something. And I want you to know that I won’t be angry, I just want an honest answer, OK?”

Kili narrowed his eyes, “… alright.”

“Are you going to start seeing the redhead?” It was a little more blunt than he’d intended, but it was too late to dwell on it now. “Because if you are, I understand. This thing that we’ve got is… well frankly, weird, and I understand if it’s all got too much and you want something normal, but please, just tell me straight, because I can’t go on wondering about it.”

For a moment or two, Kili just blinked at him, before promptly bursting onto raucous laughter. “What the hell are you talking about?” catching Fili’s annoyed expression (he’d just bared his soul and his brother was cackling like an idiot) he tried to hold back his laughter. “I’m with you, you dozy sod. And that isn’t going to change any time soon, if I have anything to say about it.”

Oh.

“But – but you spent all evening with her, and you were really, sort of, close, and you get on so well, and…”

“Oh my God, Fili. She’s a friend. That’s what friends do,” he shook his head. “We need to start making more of an effort to talk to people outside the company,” he said, poking Fili in the chest, “you’re starting to go loopy.”

Fili bristled at his brother’s last comment, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the embarrassing rush of relief he felt. “So… you don’t fancy her?”

“I didn’t say that,” Kili smirked. “But what does it matter when I love you? You’re the one I want to share my days with, Fili. And nights,” he raised an eyebrow. “I want to fall into bed with you ridiculously early because we’re so damn tired, smelling of horse and covered with bruises we got from doing something stupid, share bad service station coffee and good festival food. I want you to kiss me good morning, and me to kiss you goodnight.”

“That was…” Fili was struck a little dumb by the depth of his brother’s confession. “I didn’t know you felt so strongly about it all. I mean, I didn’t know you were so sure of us.”

“Well, you should have asked me, instead of assuming I’m going to run off into the sunset with red-haired acrobats.”

“Right,” Fili winced at how badly he’d blown everything out of proportion, “sorry.”

“And you call me stupid, for fucks sake.” Fili punched him weakly on the arm. “But there is one more thing you might like to hear…” his smile turned predatory, “Tauriel fancies you.”

What? “What?”

“Of course I told her, politely, to get fucked, because you’re mine. Well, I didn’t actually say that last bit, because this probably isn’t the sort of thing you should chat about with people you’ve just met,” Kili rambled, gesturing vaguely between them, completely oblivious to Fili’s mixed expression of horror and amusement, “but anyway, I still have her number.”

“Well that’s… nice,” said Fili, not quite as sincere as he should have been, but also not wanting to ruin the fact Kili had actually made a friend outside their funny little family.

“Mmhmm,” Kili nodded, “I’m going to snapchat her cool stuff we see while we’re on the road.”

“… how lovely.”

“And pictures of your face while you’re asleep, just to show her what she can’t have.” 

“Oh Christ, Kili.”

Kili snorted in laughter, “I won’t really.”

“Yes you bloody will,” Fili definitely wouldn’t put it past him.

“Only one or two…”

Fili considered kissing the playful smirk right of his brother’s face, but thought that might be too close to Kili getting his own way. So instead, he pulled the toffee Mr Baggins had given him from his pocket and popped a piece into Kili’s mouth before he could protest.


End file.
